


Ribbon Red

by chillyacademic



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Established Relationship, F/M, Minor Character Death, Murder Mystery, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:15:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23652193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chillyacademic/pseuds/chillyacademic
Summary: Follow along Robin and Crocodile as they go on about their days in the modern city of Rainbase. Things are normal, Robin works as a manager at her partner Crocodile's casino Rain Dinners while Crocodile perhaps isn't too truthful about what he's really doing.Of course, one day things change.
Relationships: Crocodile/Nico Robin
Comments: 6
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I want to give a HUGE thank you to @nevermordor here on ao3 for helping me with proof reading and giving me motivation and ideas for this fic! This will apply to all coming chapters as well and I can't express how much gratitude I feel. Make sure to visit her page as well! 
> 
> This is a modern au story which does not follow canon, but will have elements from canon implemented in it, such as characters and locations. Hope you enjoy!

Monday.

To a lot of people, that meant getting up extra early, quickly eating a meal that could barely qualify as breakfast and wrestle people to get a seat on public transport before heading off to do their daily tasks at their day jobs.  
Rainbase, albeit a beautiful and friendly city, was hectic and competitive in the early mornings.  
For the rich and powerful however, this was just a momentary disturbance for their sleep. Most of them didn’t need to wake up early. Some of them didn’t get out of their beds at all. 

Two people who didn’t have to get up quite as early as everyone else, but still did, were Robin and Crocodile, a couple who had their two story apartment in the centre of the city.  
They liked to wake up early to share breakfast on their balcony, overlooking the chaos down below.  
Crocodile, the older of the two, usually started his day with a cup of strong, black coffee in his hand. He prefered to not eat in the mornings, but helped himself to some fruit sometimes. If he was feeling extra dapper, he would even start his day with a cigar, much to his partner’s dismay. 

To the general public, Crocodile was stoic and quite frankly, a bit terrifying. He had a large scar, going from one ear to the other, over the bridge of his nose. No one really knew how he had got it, since he refused to speak of it. Some had suggested cosmetic surgery to hide it, but he had never wanted to. He was quite fond of it, really.  
The scar however wasn’t the only thing that people noticed about him. While his right hand was completely fine, his left hand was an advanced prosthetic that he had customized to his own liking.  
Usually it had the shape of a normal hand. From a distance, it almost looked like he was wearing a black glove, but if you went up close, you’d notice it was made out of carbon fibres and very delicate metal. It had infused suction sections on his palm and fingers to perfectly be able to replicate what a hand with skin could do.  
Sensors made it possible for him to change his advanced prosthetic into whatever he felt like at that moment. He liked to change it into a hook since he thought it was a pretty amusing thing to wear out in public.  
His partner had even jokingly asked if it could turn into an interesting toy for the bedroom, but Crocodile admitted he unfortunately hadn’t thought that far ahead when getting the prosthetic.  
The hook shape was good enough to startle people that he wanted to frighten, so that’s what he liked to use the most out in public. 

Said partner, Robin, on the other hand was oftentimes his opposite. She was calm and and kind looking, and usually had an inviting smile on her face. Her thick bangs framed her face perfectly, however in the mornings when she woke up, she clipped them away with hairpins to get it out of her face.  
For her breakfast, she preferred green tea over coffee and gladly munched on some scrambled eggs on toast.

This Monday was no different than the other days.  
The two of them sat together on the balcony, overlooking the city. One could spot Crocodile’s casino in the distance, where Robin went to work a few times a week.  
Besides owning that particular successful casino, Crocodile also dabbled with, in his own words, a little bit of a criminal activity. He had told Robin he mostly dealt with petty drug dealings. His band of dealers was named Baroque Works, but that’s the extent of what Robin knew of it.  
She didn’t mind it. Not that much at least, since the extra money Crocodile came home with enabled her to live the life she had always wanted to. She had time to study archaeology, but also be out making her own money as the head manager at her partner’s casin, at her own terms.  
No one ever suspected Crocodile of dealing with underground drug dealings. Despite being known as a bit of a scary man, he was also the kind of man who donated a huge sum of money to charities and other good causes. He attended several fundraising events and had made a hugely positive change to Rainbase since he moved there over 10 years ago. 

“Do you remember when we first met?” Crocodile said, breaking the silence. He blew out some smoke from his cigar.  
“Hm?” Robin sipped on her tea and looked at him curiously.  
“You were beautiful,” Crocodile replied.  
Robin let out a chuckle. “Is this your way of telling me I’m not anymore?” she asked.  
“Not at all.” Crocodile replied. “It just dawned on me that I never told you on that day. You wore this amazing dress. Red. Stood out from the crowd.”  
“Well, I suppose that was the whole point,” Robin answered.  
“So you say. Perhaps one day you’ll tell me why.” Crocodile smiled.  
“Perhaps.”  
Robin finished her toast and dabbed a napkin over her lips. “I should remind you that I barely know anything about your troubled past either. But… maybe the less I know, the better. You might just end up getting arrested for something you’ve done in your youth..”  
Crocodile couldn’t hold back an amused laugh.  
“Oh please. Where’s your faith in me?” he said. “You say that as though I murdered someone.”  
Robin smiled. “If you did, I don’t want to know.” she said and got up to walk indoors.  
As she stood up, the doorbell rang.  
“I’ll get it.” she continued and leaned down to kiss Crocodile’s cheek before she went inside. 

Few people had access to their apartment floor, so Robin already knew it was someone they trusted who had rang the bell.  
She looked through the small peep hole in the door before she disarmed the door alarm and unlocked the door.  
“Hello, Daz,” Robin said as she opened the door. She moved a bit to the side to allow the man inside.  
“Morning.” Daz Bones was a man of few words. He was sturdy, wide shouldered and tall, and a bit intimidating if you didn’t know him, but to Robin, he was warm and caring.  
Daz was essentially their right hand man, their go-to-man. Most of all, he was Crocodile’s closest friend.  
“Sorry, I’m early,” Daz continued as he stepped inside.  
“No worries. Just take a seat.” Robin said. “We’ll be ready in a bit.” 

While Robin went upstairs to change clothes and make herself presentable, Daz went over to greet Crocodile.  
As she changed clothes, she decided to pick out today’s suit for Crocodile and laid it out for him on their bed.  
He joined her in the bedroom a little while later and they had a conversation about dinner plans. Once they were both set, the three of them left the apartment and entered the elevator to go down..  
Crocodile stood against the wall with his black hair slicked back, smelling of fresh cologne with Robin next to him. She held a small handheld mirror and adjusted her bangs a little. Perhaps a trip to the salon was needed soon, she thought.

The elevator took them to the garage where they had three cars standing. Two belonged to Crocodile and the third car belonged to Robin. It had been a birthday present from Crocodile some years ago.  
Daz unlocked one of Crocodile’s cars with his personal car key and sat down in the driver’s seat while Crocodile entered the passenger side.  
Robin waved goodbye and sat down in her own car. She waited for them to leave before she drove off as well.  
Once at the staff parking lot of the casino, she parked the car and stepped out of the vehicle. One of the security guards held the up the door when she came over and she greeted him with a warm smile before going inside.  
The casino still wouldn’t open for another hour, but she liked to be early. 

Not all of the staff members were there yet, so it was still pretty empty in the building. She oversaw a couple of cleaners, making sure the floor looked spotless before she went over to the bar to get herself some orange juice.  
She sat in silence on a high chair at the bar counter, thinking about everything and nothing, when one of her security guards came over and asked for her to come with him to the entrance hall. Apparently two detectives were asking for the manager.  
Confused, she went along with him, hoping Crocodile hadn’t managed to screw something up in the short amount of time that had passed since she saw him.

She mentally prepared herself for the worst when she walked over to the detectives. The first one, a man looking to be in his thirties, approached her. The female detective joined him quickly.  
“Detective Smoker and detective Tashigi. Sorry to disturb you, ma’am, but me and my colleague just need to ask a few questions,” the man introduced himself. No smiles there. He was hard to read since he showed no emotion.  
“Yes? What’s going on?” Robin asked, cautious of the police.  
“This won’t take long. Have you seen this man around here before?” Smoker asked as he handed her a photo of a middle-aged smiling man, with long black locks and kind eyes.  
Robin studied the photo and then looked back at the detectives. She knew who he was.  
“Nefertari,” Robin replied and held out the photo back to them. “Kobra, I think his first name is. I see him pretty often. Did something happen to him?”  
“He was found dead yesterday a couple of blocks from here. Murdered.” Smoker replied. Tashigi adjusted her red glasses before she grabbed the photo from Robin and stood back again.  
“Oh.” Robin couldn’t help but feel a bit tense at that moment, but she tried to not let it show.  
“He happened to have a business card from the casino in his pocket, so we figured we might as well ask around here since he was found closeby.” Smoker continued, avoiding any details about the crime. “Do you know if Mr. Nefertari might’ve had any enemies? Perhaps he pissed someone off while gambling?”  
Robin lightly shrugged her shoulders while shaking her head. “I… I don’t think so. He was a polite and nice man from what I’ve seen and been told. Sometimes he gave the other customers the extra coins he had left before he headed home. I’ve never had any complaints about him.”  
Smoker nodded while Tashigi wrote down something in her notepad that Robin couldn’t see.  
“Mr. Nefertari doesn’t happen to have any debts to this casino, does he?” he asked.  
“No, he does not. I would know if he did,” Robin answered truthfully. “Are you suggesting someone in the casino killed him, detective?”  
“I’m not suggesting anything, ma’am.” Smoker said. “I just need to ask questions, it’s part of my job.”  
Robin looked at them both and with a slightly defeated sigh, nodded. “Sure. Anything else?”  
“Nothing more for now. Here’s my card if you come up with anything that might be useful. Don’t hesitate to call me if you have any questions. I’ll contact you if needed.”  
Smoker shook her hand, left her his card and then walked out of the doors with the quiet Tashigi next to him. 

Robin stood still, looking at them leaving, but she noticed a small note fall from Tashigi’s notepad and she hurried over to pick it up. At first she wasn’t even going to look at it, but the words written on it drew her in.

_ask morgue  
strange neck wound??  
not shot, not stabbed  
pike? pole?  
slightly angled. hook? _

Hook.

“Miss? Excuse me, your note.” Robin held the note out to the detective with a smile.  
Tashigi turned around and quickly grabbed it from her.  
“Thank you,” she said quietly and ignored the look she got from the partner. Seems like it wasn’t the first time she clumsily dropped important things.  
Tashigi gave her a faint smile back before she and Smoker left the building.

Robin looked at the card Smoker had given her. This didn’t have to mean anything. People die every day. Nefertari’s death didn’t have to have anything to do with Crocodile. Why would it? The hook? It was just a silly theory.  
Instead of dwelling on it further, Robin went back to drinking her juice and continuing on with her work.

The same day, later into the night, when Robin and Crocodile were getting ready to go to bed, Robin decided to mention the killing.  
“There was a murder just a few blocks from the casino yesterday,” she started as she took off her bra to change into a tank top she wore when she slept.  
“Uh-huh.” Crocodile was already in bed, sitting up against the bed frame while solving a crossword puzzle. The tone of his voice let her know that he wasn’t really listening.  
“Mr. Nefertari. One of our regulars,” Robin explained further. “You’ve met him several times.”  
Crocodile glanced at her. “Unfortunate.” he said shortly and looked back down at his puzzle.  
“Well, some detectives came over and asked about him since he had the casino business card in his pockets. Wanted to know if he had a debt or any… enemies I knew of.”  
Robin sat down on her side of the bed. Her clothes were neatly put on a nearby chair and she threw the bra onto it.  
Crocodile didn’t say anything.  
“I know I shouldn’t worry about it. It was just a routine questioning,” Robin continued. She turned around and laid down close to Crocodile, close enough to wrap an arm around his abdomen. “Baroque Works didn’t have anything to do with it, right?”  
“No.” he replied.

Robin couldn’t tell if he was lying or not.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected character, a blast from the past and an interesting surprise is what's included in chapter 2. Enjoy!

_Bzz. Bzz. Bzz._

The phone vibrated on his desk. Crocodile leaned forward in his seat to check the screen who it was.  
Hidden number.  
He sat still for a few more rings, wondering if the caller would eventually give up, but when it continued to buzz, he answered it, but stayed silent.  
“What, no ‘hello’?” the voice said. “Still have a stick up your ass?”  
“What do you want, Doflamingo?” Crocodile asked as he leaned back in his armchair and closed his eyes.   
Doflamingo chuckled. “Right to the point, huh? You really haven’t changed one bit.”   
“I’m hanging up,” Crocodile muttered, but as he moved his phone from his ear, he heard Doflamingo shout at the other end.   
“Alright! Fuck, don’t hang up, man. I just want to talk a little.”   
“Then tell me what the hell you want. No chit-chatting.” Crocodile’s good mood was really starting to fade away quickly talking to this man and for some goddamn reason that he couldn’t quite figure out, he kept the other man on the line.   
Crocodile heard some cars driving in the background. People talking. Music. Seems like Doflamingo was on the move. Not surprising. since the man couldn’t stay still for just one second.  
“Look, I know you’re busy with that casino of yours and that hot chick you’re dating, but it wouldn’t hurt to call your business partner a little now and then. I always have to speak to your boyfriend.”   
“He’s not my-”  
“Whatever. Your second hand man, assistant, secretary, call it whatever you want. Him. I always have to talk to him when I really just want to talk to the big boss. Always telling me you’re busy or away or just straight up don’t want to talk to little ol’ me. Rude, I’d say. Might make one reconsider our deal.”   
“Well, you figured out my private number anyway, so congratulations,“ Crocodile muttered. “And you’re not going to back out, Doflamingo. It’s too lucrative for you. I send poor, unfortunate people in debt from my casino your way, and you make them even more ruined than when they arrived. I’m doing both of us a favour with this one.”   
Doflamingo let out an amused snort from the other end. “See, we can have a civil conversation, can’t we?”  
“If it’s about business, yes.” Crocodile started to idly play with a pen, rolling it between his fingers. “However, with you, it’s never only about business. You’ll start talking about… us, about stupid shit that happened years ago.”  
“We sure had fun, didn’t we? And hey, you brought it up first this time,” Doflamingo said, clearly amused by the conversation.   
When Crocodile let out a groan, Doflamingo continued the talking. “Hey, alright. I’ll shut up about that. By the way, I heard about that murder last week. The Nefertari guy. Stirred up quite some talk, even around here. Apparently it was a very… brutal murder.”  
Crocodile could tell that Doflamingo was smiling. “Since when have you ever cared about the death of strangers?” he asked bitterly.   
“I don’t. It’s just funny. There’s never been a murder this interesting in years and the victim just so happens to be Rain Dinner’s walking advertisement. He talked to everyone about your casino, friends and strangers alike. I wonder why.”  
“I’ll just have to find a new guy who can run his mouth as much as Kobra did. I’m sure there are plenty around,” Crocodile said and put the pen down before he got up on his feet. “You know, that reminds me. I should hire some more security guards so people feel safer at night around the casino. I’d say it was nice talking to you, but I’d be lying, so goodbye. Don’t ever call this number again.”   
Click.

Crocodile let out a long exhale, relieved to hear nothing but silence again. Perhaps working with someone you once hooked up with in the past wasn’t such a great idea. At least not with someone as… eccentric as Doflamingo. Alas, the man was a problem solver, which is why Crocodile still kept him around. Though he promised himself not to answer the phone next time he’d call. 

He was standing in his office at the top floor. The view from there was one of the best and he could see his casino in the distance, along with the apartment building he and Robin residented in. Daz lived a few buildings away.  
The work he was doing during the day seemed to be about his casino, that’s what he told everyone else, but he left most of that part of the job to Robin and his other employees.  
What he really did was only a handful who knew and he wanted to keep it that way. 

“Robin, over here!”   
It wasn’t hard to tell it was Mikita shouting her name. Mikita was someone who Robin was acquaintances with, although Robin suspected that the younger woman thought they were closer friends than they actually were.   
Mikita had worked at the casino, which is how they got to know each other. She had since then quit that job. 

After working a couple of hours at Rain Dinners, Robin had decided to go for a walk downtown. She had been searching for a new pair of heels for a while now and today she made up her mind about finding the perfect pair before she headed home.  
What she hadn’t planned for was running into Mikita. She didn’t dislike her, but Robin had a hard time matching her energy to the point that after spending a while with her, Robin felt like an exhausted mess.  
However, seeing as Mikita always wore stylish and trendy clothes, Robin figured she might want to help her out.   
“Hi, fancy meeting you here.” Robin gave the blonde woman a smile. Mikita was quite a bit shorter than Robin, but with her very colorful clothing, together with the light blonde hair, she stood out in the crowd.   
“It’s been **ages** since I saw you, Robin!” Mikita said as she skipped over to Robin and gave her a hug.   
“Sure has,” Robin replied awkwardly.   
“You’ve got to tell me everything that’s been going on with you.” Mikita locked her arm with Robin as they began walking again. “How are you? Your skin is glowing. What products are you using? Is it from the new Boa Beauty line? I wish I had been able to get the latest kit, but I was away and it sold out in less than an hour.”  
“Oh. Uh, no. I don’t…” Robin started but was interrupted.   
“You’re just naturally beautiful, aren’t you?” Mikita laughed. “I’m so jealous. Oh, sorry! What were you saying?”   
Robin gave her a faint smile.   
“I haven’t used anything today. Just a bit of concealer under my eyes,” she admitted. “Mikita, you know what’s stylish these days, don’t you? I need new heels.”  
When Robin uttered those last four words, Mikita’s eyes lit up with excitement. She instantly dragged Robin over to the large mall that was nearby and showed her to her favourite shoe store. It had a mix of both vintage shoes, along with the newer ones. Mikita didn’t shy away from the older styles of shoes and she commented on almost every pair of shoe she found interesting. 

After trying out what felt like a hundred pairs of shoes, Robin picked three pairs of heels she found fit her the most. She hadn’t planned on buying three since she didn’t actually need the extra two pairs, but Mikita managed to convince her otherwise.   
She was also convinced to get a cup of coffee together. Mikita was really eager to talk and Robin didn’t have anything else planned, so she figured she might as well continue spending time with her a while longer.   
They went to a small café a bit down the road from the shopping mall and sat down at a table close to the windows.   
Mikita sipped on her drink and looked curiously at Robin.   
“You still have a thing with the old boss, huh?” she asked.   
“Yes,” Robin replied shortly. She took a bite from the pastry she had ordered. She usually never ordered any sweets when she was out, but she had had a craving for it this time for some reason. “You’re still with… Gem? Was that his name?”   
She was actually surprised she even remembered that Mikita had had a boyfriend back when she was working for her, since it had been quite a while since they last saw each other.  
“Yup!” Mikita nodded. “We’re having our three year anniversary next month! I’ve never had a relationship this long before, so I’m really excited to see if he’s planned anything for us. I’d **love** to eat dinner at that new seafood restaurant that opened recently. Have you been there? It looks great!”  
Robin shook her head. She rarely went to restaurants, since she either had her meals at home or done by the chefs at the casino. Crocodile didn’t really like going out, so she hadn’t had a good reason to visit any restaurants.

At first, when they started dating, she hadn’t given it much thought. However, as time progressed, she started to notice how much he disliked being out in public when he didn’t have to. He went out when he had to, when his reputation demanded it, but he never wanted to go out on his own terms, even with Robin.   
He never forbade her to go out on her own, but one of the reasons she wanted to be with Crocodile, was to be able to enjoy things together with someone.   
She had tried to bring him out and about, but he hadn’t even been able to fake having a good time.   
One of the few times she had noticed on him that he hadn’t been having a miserable time going out was when they were out completely alone. Usually the destination had been to the parks nearby or the beach late at night.   
Robin had enjoyed the time they had spent there, but those moments were rare. Usually they were both too tired to actually stay up for that long until the places actually appeared empty. 

“Oh, I’d definitely tell you about it if I ever go there.” Mikita smiled. “Gosh, I’m getting excited about it! I hope he’ll decipher my not-so-subtle hints.”  
“Hope so,” Robin said before she took a sip from her coffee. The difference between her and Mikita was stark, both in their personalities and the way they viewed relationships.  
“How long have you two been going out? You were together when I started working for you, right? Already feels like a lifetime ago. How are things for you?”   
“Curious, are we?” Robin couldn’t really understand why her relationship with Crocodile was so interesting, but she decided to play along.   
“Well, I suppose it’s good. We’ve been together for a little over four years by now. Not sick of each other yet if that’s what you’re wondering,” she said.   
“No, no, I’m not wondering that. I’m glad you’re doing well,” Mikita said. “To be honest, back then, I was surprised when I found out you two were dating. I figured he was married already. He’s a lot older than you, isn’t he?”   
Robin shrugged her shoulders.   
“He’s older than me, yes, but it’s never been an issue,” she replied. “We understand each other quite well and that’s what matters to me.”   
Mikita nodded along.  
“Of course! I’m happy for you, I really am,” she said. Robin couldn’t really tell if she was genuine or not. If she wasn’t, she hid it well. She supposed that for someone like Mikita, dating someone who was sixteen years older than yourself would be a bit unusual.

Robin quickly changed the subject after that. She didn’t feel like talking about her relationship any longer and faked an interest in Mikita and her boyfriend instead just to get the other woman on other thoughts. It could’ve been a pleasant conversation had Mikita just kept her mouth shut about Crocodile. 

She excused herself after a while and left the café alone. She felt irritated, but at the same time the meeting made her realise that she hadn’t really got any close friends to talk to. She didn’t know anyone she could have deeper conversations with besides Crocodile and that made her feel a bit lonely. It was a feeling she hadn’t felt in years.   
It was sad, she thought to herself. Even if she was used to being alone before meeting Crocodile, it still felt tragic that he was the only one she felt comfortable enough with to share her personal thoughts with.  
She loved the man, but she needed other people to talk to. She needed a friend every once in a while, not a partner. Someone she could joke and relate to, someone she could vent and share ideas with. Was that so hard to find?  
How did one even go about to make friends? Where did one even look for potential friends to start with? Work? Online? Sit lonely somewhere and hope some poor soul would join her side?  
Robin felt silly just by thinking about it. Perhaps she just needed a diary. 

Crocodile hadn’t arrived home yet when Robin entered through their front door. She put away her shoes and walked over the marble floor upstairs to the master bedroom. There she quickly changed into loungewear and put her new belongings away in the closet space.   
After entering the bathroom next door, she put her hair up and washed her face. Robin in the mirror looked back at her with an indifferent facial expression once she had dried her face off with a towel and she let out a sigh.   
She was happy with Crocodile and her life, but there was an itch in her. A change was needed. She knew that, but she didn’t know what change.   
Had her mother been alive, perhaps she’d given her a call to ask for her advice. That’s what mothers were for, right? Being needed by their children. 

She left the bathroom to fetch one of her archaeology books from her nightstand and went downstairs again to sit down in the living room.  
The first ten minutes went by smoothly, but she started to get a headache after a few pages. It became slightly too annoying to read after a while longer and she got up to get some water from the kitchen.  
She opened the fridge to get herself some of the lemon water she had prepared earlier that morning and poured it into her glass but when she went over to put the pitcher away, she felt a craving for something sweet. They didn’t have anything sweet in the refrigerator to her disappointment, so she looked through the cupboards in search of something.   
Eventually she found a protein bar with dark chocolate and raisins. It had long expired, but since it was still unopened, she didn’t care.   
Bringing the bar and the water back to the couch, she first drank the water and then opened up the snack. She honestly couldn’t remember why they even had it there since they didn’t eat any protein bars. Nevertheless, she was grateful for it.   
It didn’t taste expired and it satisfied her urge for the moment, so she went back to reading her book with better result this time.

Crocodile arrived home sometime later and he joined her on the couch after a while.   
“Haven’t you already read that book pretty recently?” he asked as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and leaned his head against hers.   
“I’m not sure if you know this, dear, but when a book is good, some people like to reread them,” Robin replied with a smile. She turned to face him and gave him a peck on the cheek.   
“I had no idea,” Crocodile replied. His tone let her know that he was joking.   
He then noticed the empty protein bar wrap on the coffee table. “Since when did you start with those?”   
“I just had a craving for something sweet,” Robin answered.   
“You don’t like sweets,” Crocodile pointed out.   
Robin shrugged her shoulders.   
“I know you don’t want strangers in our home, but wouldn’t it be perfect for a house chef to come right about now and start making us dinner while we sit here?” Crocodile asked.  
“You’re only saying it because it’s your turn. You never complain when I’m the one who has to cook,” Robin said. She then got a playful look on her face.   
“But do you know what would be perfect?”  
“What?”   
“Heading out and order something **very** unhealthy. The fast food place a block from us is especially appealing right now. Or, if you want something fancy, there’s this restaurant that-”  
Crocodile’s mood shifted immediately while listening to her suggestion and he interrupted her talking.  
“No.”  
“But-”  
“I said ‘no’, Robin.” Crocodile sighed as he got up from the couch. “If you want something unhealthy, I can make it for you.”  
Robin was quiet for a few seconds while Crocodile looked at her. She then looked back at him with a defeated look on her face. She agreed to a compromise.   
“Then I want some fries,” she said before turning her eyes back to the book. “And make them really crispy.”  
“Fine.”   
Robin saw him disappear from the corner of her eyes. At least she’d tried.   
She listened to him scramble around in the kitchen and when it started to smell divine, she put the book away and joined him.

Another two weeks went by rather quickly after that. Robin hadn’t heard anything new about the murder that had happened, so she guessed that the police had run into a dead end with gathering evidence.   
Over the weeks, she had had more cravings, but it wasn’t always for sweets. It was sometimes very specific things that she oftentimes didn’t have nearby, so she had to settle with next best things.   
Robin also noticed that she became irrationally emotional at times. She snapped at people when they didn’t deserve it and held grudges over the smallest things, which was something she had never done before. It wasn’t like her. 

One morning she woke up in an unusually bad mood. She stared up at the ceiling and just felt like going back to sleep again to make the day end.   
Crocodile wasn’t in the bed with her, but she heard him downstairs. He must’ve arrived late that night because she hadn’t noticed him coming home when she had gone to bed.   
After a short debate with herself whether or not to just stay in bed all day or get up and be productive, she sat up.   
She noticed Crocodile’s outfit from yesterday folded up on the chair next to the closet. She knew that he wasn’t going to wear it this day and he should’ve put it in the laundry basket instead of placing it on the chair.  
Why didn’t he listen? She had told him multiple times to put his dirty clothes with the other laundry.   
Robin dragged herself out of the bed. Before tending to herself, she angrily grabbed the clothes from the chair and threw it in the laundry basket they had in the bathroom. Such a small thing, she thought. It wasn’t so hard to just put it in the basket. Why couldn’t he do it?  
Muttering to herself, she went back to the bedroom to dress herself. 

When she came down to the kitchen, Crocodile sat at the table with a cup of coffee and the newspaper in his hands. He was also smoking.   
Great.  
“Would it kill you to open up a window or two if you smoke indoors?” she said indifferently as she walked over to the tea brewer to make herself some tea.   
Crocodile immediately noticed what mood she was in.   
“I bought the place. I can do what I want in here,” he replied. “The ventilation will-”  
“Well, if you haven’t noticed, I also live here,” Robin said as she turned to face him. “I don’t like the smell, you know I don’t. I don’t care about the ventilation taking care of the smoke. It’s the smell that sticks with me.”  
Crocodile arched a thin eyebrow at her.   
“Open up a window yourself then,” he muttered and turned his eyes back to the newspaper.   
The nonchalant tone of his voice just egged Robin on.  
“Sure. I’ll open up a window. I do everything else in this damn apartment anyway!” she said, and this time her tone was completely different. She was angry now and let Crocodile know it, which was unusual of her.   
She stomped over to the closest window and opened it forcefully before going over to the other one to do the same.  
In the meantime, Crocodile had put the newspaper down, along with the cigar and got up on his feet.  
“What’s wrong with you?” he asked as he grabbed her arm, but she quickly yanked herself free and stepped back from him.  
“Nothing’s wrong with me. It’s **you** who just refuses to listen to me! How many times have I asked you not to smoke in here? How many times have I asked you to put your clothes in the laundry after you’ve used them? How many times have I asked you to text me when you’re coming home late? The list goes on. You always do what you want, with no consideration for what I want!” she said, almost yelling. It surprised even her.  
It surprised Crocodile as well. He opened his mouth to retaliate, but last second he decided not to.   
“I don’t have time for this bullshit,” he growled. “I really fucking don’t.”   
They both turned their backs away from each other. Robin crossed her arms over her chest and bit into her lower lip to calm herself down while looking out over the city through the window, while Crocodile gathered up his things and left the kitchen.   
Robin stood by the window a little while longer until she heard the tea brewer beep to indicate it was done.   
She poured her tea in a cup and went out on the balcony to get some fresh air and clear her head. She heard Crocodile leave the apartment a few minutes later, but she didn’t feel much better once he was gone.   
After a while of staring at nothing, Robin also left the apartment and headed over to her job at the casino.

When lunch time at work came, Robin didn’t eat anything. Nothing had a taste, so she just had a bit of water.   
She had tons of paperwork to be done since someone had been secretly sabotaging the slot machines and she had had to deal with the police coming to investigate and repairmen coming in and out to fix or replace the machines. It had been a headache to say the least.   
Robin headed over to the floor where they kept most of the slot machines to see what the repairmen were doing. She didn’t need anyone of them dropping something or accidently ruining something else in the process.   
She entered the room to overlook the progress, but it was almost empty, besides from one repairman who was working with his headphones on at the back. She assumed that the rest of them must be on their break.   
He hadn’t seemed to notice her as she came into the room. Instead, he just kept on bobbing his head to the apparent music in his ears and casually drank from a soda bottle while using a screwdriver on the machine. It looked unprofessional, but Robin had hired the best company she could find, so she supposed they would be doing a good job.   
She watched him work for another few seconds before she left, feeling pleased with the progress.

Later that day, during sorting through some of her papers, she started to feel sick. While being in a conversation with a janitor, she had to run off to the restrooms to throw up.   
As she walked back out, she overheard two of her staff talking about a third party, someone they knew who had just found out they were pregnant.  
Then it clicked.   
She usually had a pretty irregular period, so she hadn’t been worried when it hadn’t showed up when she had predicted it to come, but with the mood swings, the headaches, the cravings. It made sense.   
Of course, she’d have to go buy a test to make absolutely certain, but the signs were pretty clear to her. She also remembered that they hadn’t exactly been using protection the last couple of times they had been intimate with each other, which now had been pretty stupid of them, she thought.   
They’d never really discussed children before. Nothing too serious.   
Robin wondered if this was the change she wanted. Maybe this was it? It was a big decision though for both of them.   
She realised that she was getting ahead of herself. She had to make sure and if it was positive, she had to let him know.

On her way home, she stopped by a local drugstore to buy the pregnancy test. She paid for it and as she was walking through the doors, she bumped into someone and dropped the test on the ground.   
It was a girl she had bumped into. A teenager. She looked familiar but Robin didn’t know where she’d seen her before. Blue hair was unusual, so Robin thought that she should’ve known from where she’d seen her before.  
“Sorry, I didn’t see you,” Robin said as she picked up the test and put it in her handbag.   
“You work at the casino, don’t you?” the girl asked. “The manager.”  
“Who’s asking?” Robin said and moved out of the way for new customers entering the doors.   
“You don’t recognise me?” the girl stared at Robin. “I know what he did. That boyfriend of yours.”  
“What do you mean?” Robin frowned. She was about to reach out to the girl, but the teenager quickly backed off and ran away from her, much too quickly for Robin to even react to what had happened.   
“Wait!”  
It was too late though. The girl disappeared into the masses and Robin was left standing, confused. If something had happened, Crocodile would’ve told her, wouldn’t he? She’d had to ask him about that later.   
Still puzzled over the meeting, she went back home. Crocodile wasn’t home yet, but she had expected as much.   
She walked over to the bathroom and tested herself. Nervously she sat on the toilet, waiting for it to show her the result. 

Two stripes.  
Positive.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some tension, some hard feelings, some old faces. This chapter is centered more toward Robin than Crocodile.

“I’m sorry, what?”  
“I said, I’m pregnant.”

Robin had decided to tell Crocodile two days later about her discovery. During the two days she’d been the only one knowing about this, she’d gone through several emotions. Surprisingly, the happy emotions were the most prominent ones.   
She hadn’t expected to feel that way. She had never really been around children all that much and she doubted that Crocodile had either, so neither of them had that much experience with the tiny humans. However, she found herself eager to find out more, even if she knew that this was a huge responsibility. A life changing responsibility in fact and one that she couldn’t decide to get on her own. 

Crocodile just stared at her. Speechless.   
Robin couldn’t quite make out what he was thinking, but she hoped dearly that it wasn’t anything bad. She wanted to have a civil conversation about this, even if the relationship between the two of them the last two days had been a bit strained because of their argument.  
“Are you going to say something?” Robin asked her partner after a long pause.   
They sat at the kitchen table, having just had their dinner together. Robin had decided to break the news after they had finished eating.   
“I… don’t know what to say,” Crocodile replied. He looked anxious. It was a look Robin rarely saw in him.   
“Well, I know we didn’t exactly plan for all this, but we haven’t really been very careful either,” Robin continued. “I’m not on the pill since they make me nauseous and you’ve forgotten to buy condoms at least twice these last couple of months.”  
“I’m aware.” Crocodile sighed. He had never even considered the possibility for something like this to happen, which in hindsight had been pretty stupid of him.   
He had just figured that since they had slept together without protection quite a lot of times over the years they had been together, that they were somehow immune to a pregnancy, which obviously had been proven wrong now.   
“So what do you want to do? I don’t want to decide anything on my own,” Robin said.   
“Do we have time for a kid?” Crocodile answered after a moment of silence between them.   
“We make time.” Robin leaned back in her chair and folded her arms over her chest. “If we want to.”  
Despite them never really having a long and honest conversation about children, Crocodile couldn’t deny that he had thought about it on his own. What would he be like as a father? Hopefully nothing like his own.   
“Can I just take a day or two to process all this?” Crocodile asked. He waited for Robin to nod before he got up from his seat. He silently grabbed the dirty dishes to occupy his mind with something else while Robin watched him.   
Not the reaction she had wanted from him, but certainly the reaction she had expected. She couldn’t blame him though, it had after all been a big reveal. 

Later that night, Crocodile went to bed earlier than Robin. They hadn’t discussed the pregnancy anymore that night, but it had been hard to talk about anything else.  
She waited half an hour after he had disappeared into the bedroom before she followed. It was dark, but the light from the hallway was enough for her to see what she was doing.  
She undressed and changed into her sleepwear before walking over to their ensuite bathroom to wash off today’s concerns. She didn’t spend more time than necessary in there before she came back out.   
Before turning off the lights in the hallway, she looked back at the bed. Crocodile was on his side, facing away from her side of the bed.   
“Crocodile?” she said in a low, soft tone, almost in a whisper.   
It was quiet and Robin hadn’t expected an answer, so she turned off the lights and laid down in their bed.   
She laid still, just staring up into the dark void that was supposed to be the ceiling.   
When her eyes got used to the darkness and she could actually see some shapes, she finally closed her eyes to get some sleep.   
Ten minutes went by. Twenty minutes. Thirty.   
She was still awake. Glancing to her right, she saw the shape of Crocodile, still on his side. Robin turned over and scooped closer to his body. After wrapping her arm around his waist, she closed her eyes again.   
His deep breaths were calming. The smell of his hair felt comforting. Robin didn’t even mind that it brushed against her skin, which normally probably would’ve tickled her.   
She felt safe, holding him. Safe enough that she could finally fall asleep.

Over the next two days, Crocodile left for work earlier and came home later than Robin. Robin couldn’t help but to feel a bit hurt that he avoided her, but she also understood why he was distant.   
To her surprise, he texted her at lunch on the third day, wanting her to get off work earlier so that they could spend the rest of the day together. He also mentioned in the text that he’d like to meet up in the park that was close to their apartment building.   
Hopefully he wanted to tell her what he felt about all this. It would also give Robin a good opportunity to talk to him about her encounter with the girl outside the drugstore.   
She hadn’t mentioned it to him earlier, since she still figured that Crocodile would’ve told her if it had been important, but she had now decided that she’d bring it up. 

So she eagerly left the casino in the early afternoon and parked her car in the garage. She didn’t see Crocodile’s car there, but she assumed he’d come eventually.   
Robin didn’t wait though and headed over to the park. It was a beautiful day so of course there were plenty of people around, so for Crocodile to meet her there during daytime was unusual, but welcomed.   
She sat down on one of the benches that faced the playgrounds. Around half a dozen families were there, along with a couple of older folks that might’ve been there with their grandchildren. Children of different ages.   
As she sat there alone, she started to think. First, she thought back to her childhood. Her relationship with her mother had been rocky at best, but they had still loved each other. Robin didn’t know who her father was, so it had been her and her mother Olvia for the longest time until her mother got in trouble with the police. The reasons for it had been pretty iffy.   
While all that was happening, she stayed with her uncle. Her uncle wasn’t too bad, but his wife really disliked having her there. Her cousin wasn’t a huge fan of her either.  
When she was still a child, she’d got the news that her mother had disappeared. They never found her body and there had been hopes that she would’ve returned, but she was eventually pronounced dead by the authorities.   
It had been bittersweet to hear that her mother was dead in society’s eyes. A relief to not worry anymore, but a sadness filled her heart that would never disappear.   
She stayed with her uncle and his family until she turned eighteen. His wife basically kicked her out.  
After that, she never came back. Never talked to them again. Now she didn’t even know if they were alive.

Looking over at an older couple with what she assumed was their grandchildren, Robin’s thoughts drifted away again.   
Would she and Crocodile still be together when they’d be old and gray? It was an interesting thing to imagine. She could picture Crocodile with gray hair, perhaps even with a little bit of a beard. At most she had only seen him in a stubble.   
Robin smiled at the thought. He would probably still look classy. As for herself? Now that was harder to imagine.   
Her mother had had a lot lighter hair. Since mother and daughter could resemble each other quite a lot, she figured that gray hair might suit her. 

Perhaps that was a bit too far off into the future. 

Robin looked down to check her phone. She considered calling Crocodile, but she assumed that Crocodile would find her eventually since the park wasn’t all too large.   
And find her, he did. Some ten minutes later.   
He was on the phone, talking to Daz, but as he sat down next to Robin on the bench, he hung up.  
“Traffic,” he said as he put his phone again and gave Robin an apologetic look.  
“It’s fine,” Robin replied. She appreciated his way of apologizing for letting her wait a while. “I’m just surprised you wanted to meet here out of all places. Outside. In the park. Where people are,” she continued, smiling to him.   
“I don’t hate being out in public,” Crocodile pointed out. “I just… prefer not.” He absent minded brushed his fingers through his hair before he continued talking.  
“So… I’ve been thinking.”  
He had also been talking a lot with Daz, but he didn’t have to mention that to Robin.   
“As long as you’re fine with this new… development in our relationship, I’m fine with it as well,” he finally said.   
The answer was surprising, but Robin wanted to make sure that he really meant it.   
“This is pretty big, Crocodile. You can’t say this and then change your mind later when it’s too late,” she said and placed a hand over his prosthetic hand. She never quite got used to the feeling of the materials.   
“I’m not taking this lightly,” Crocodile replied after he turned his hand around to wrap their fingers together. This kind of intimacy out in public was rare for him to show, which to a normal person probably hadn’t been a big deal, but Robin appreciated that he actually went out of his way to show that he cared.  
Still though, Robin felt a bit of a reluctance from Crocodile, whether he knew it himself or not. Perhaps it still hadn’t sunken in what was going on.

They sat in silence for a short while, just holding hands. Despite everything, Robin wanted to cherish this moment, since she couldn’t remember the last time they had spent time together in the park in daylight.   
“I think this is a good idea,” Robin said to break the silence and leaned her head against Crocodile’s shoulder. “This is sudden, I know, but I think we can manage it. Don’t you?”  
Crocodile let out a snort that turned into a faint smile.  
“I suppose so,” he replied shortly. “I’ve handled worse things. A kid can’t be too bad.”  
Robin chuckled.  
“I hope you know that children have the potential to be quite fun to be around,” she pointed out.   
“When they behave,” Crocodile replied.   
“Just think of them like… small underlings of yours, but instead of yelling orders at them, you talk to them in a nice and quiet tone,” Robin jokingly suggested. “I’m sure you’ll be fine.”   
Crocodile gave her questionable look, but he shook it off with a laugh.  
“That’s an awful lot of trust you’re putting in me.”  
“Thought you were used to that already,” Robin said as she leaned up to kiss his cheek.

There was silence again for a few moments. 

“So what happens now?” Crocodile then asked. He really didn’t have a clue of what to do. He was usually good at improvising and dealing with changes, but he was at a loss with this.  
“It’s still early. No need to worry about anything just yet,” Robin replied.   
She then remembered the other topic she was going to ask him about.  
“Oh, another thing. A few days ago I bumped into this girl. Teenager maybe,” she started. “Blue hair. Skinny. She told me that she knew what you had done. Now, I know you might have done things that aren’t quite so… acceptable from a moral point of view, but it’s not… serious, right? She seemed surprised I didn’t know who she was.”   
Robin carefully watched Crocodile as she spoke. He wasn’t watching her, but she could see from his profile that he was thinking. What she wouldn’t give to be able to spend some time in his head for a little while.   
“Strange, ” Crocodile replied shortly. “Perhaps she’s a buyer? I don’t… I don’t keep track of everyone my dealers sell to.”   
Again, it was hard to tell if he was lying or not. If this was the truth, it was bad. If it was a lie, she didn’t want to imagine the truth.   
“If she is, you better make them stop selling to her and other teenagers,” Robin said, some anger showing in her voice. She didn’t like what Crocodile did, she put up with it, but if he knowingly or unknowingly sold to kids, she wasn’t having it. “Promise me you’ll make sure of that.”  
Finally Crocodile looked at her and gave her a nod. “Of course. I’ll make sure to overlook who’s buying.” He realised that it hadn’t been a very conclusive answer, because Robin still looked at him like he was actually selling to children.   
He sighed.  
“Robin, I promise you that I will check it out. I am not purposely selling to kids. I am also not sure who that girl that you bumped into was. It doesn’t have to have been a buyer. It could’ve just been a bored teenager who decided to fuck with people. Don’t look too much into it.”   
Not entirely convinced, Robin shrugged. She supposed she could let it go for now.  
“I just hope you’re honest with me,” she said.   
“I am.”   
Just not with everything.

The next couple of weeks went by rather smoothly, but Robin noticed that Crocodile became more and more distant. Suddenly his work required a lot more from him and he had to stay longer. At least, that’s what he had told his partner.   
Robin believed him.

She hadn’t told her employees at work yet about her and the boss expecting a child together, but she figured she would tell them eventually, when she was beginning to show more. Now it just looked like she had had a big lunch.   
Robin had been pretty grateful she hadn’t bumped into Mikita. She had a funny feeling that the younger woman would’ve been able to tell what was up just by looking at her.   
In terms of how she herself felt about the pregnancy, she felt good. Lonely, but good. She didn’t know anyone well enough who happened to be parents to ask, so she ended up looking up online forums and whatnot in order to get some kinds of relativity with her situation.   
Crocodile had arranged for her to meet a specialist one day. She had at first just thought she’d pop in to the local hospital for a check-up, but Crocodile had found a private doctor who he believed was better than the public ones. Quite a lot more expensive as well, but that hadn’t seemed to phase him at all.

Robin waited for him in the apartment. He was supposed to go with her to the appointment and she impatiently watched the clock on her phone. She had sent him plenty of messages, but they hadn’t even been read. She even went on to text Daz, but he didn’t respond either.   
Time went on and she realised that she had to leave in order to not be late.  
She cursed to herself.  
The private doctor, someone named Kureha, lived a bit outside of the city. Crocodile had mentioned that she lived quite secluded, but he had given the address to Robin earlier that day.   
The plan had been for Crocodile to come and pick her up, but since he hadn’t bothered to even tell her he was going to be late, she refused to wait any longer.   
So while she went down alone to the garage and then took her own car out, she felt unwanted emotions starting to dwell up. Angry and hurt about being ignored. Confused since Crocodile wasn’t one to usually miss appointments. Surprised that she hadn’t started to cry yet.   
She tried to brush most of it off as hormones going amok from the pregnancy.   
“Damn it!”  
Of course he didn’t pick up when she needed him the most.   
After putting in the address in the GPS, she began driving. She was even tempted to just go to an ordinary hospital out of spite, but Robin decided not to.   
Despite being in the afternoon on a weekday, she could actually drive smoothly through the city and out. Glancing at the clock a little now and then let her know that she still had time.   
Eventually she also calmed down as she had to focus on the driving instead of her emotions. 

Half an hour later, she found herself on a road she had never been on. The houses had started to scatter the farther away from Rainbase she got, but the GPS still pointed her in the right direction it seemed.   
She drove off from the main road onto a smaller one when she was told to do so and immediately noticed the lack of traffic. It didn’t seem to be a lot of people heading this way compared to the other road.   
After another ten minutes, it was time to change roads again and after that point, there were really no other house in sight.  
Cursing to herself, Robin wondered if the GPS was at fault. It was still on track. Destination was about five minutes away. By now, she was really tight on time and decided to drive faster.   
As she was driving, the car ran over something big and the whole car jumped. Since she car still kept on running, she decided it probably hadn’t been any issues. She was more worried about getting to the doctor on time.   
After a little while, she saw a house on top of a hill.   
“It can’t be…”   
Robin squinted her eyes. Was this really the place? There were no other houses nearby and the GPS pointed out to her that her destination was just straight ahead.   
She parked once she arrived and stepped out of the car. To say that she was confused was an understatement.   
Robin checked her phone. There were still no responses from either of the two idiots she had texted.  
With a sigh, she walked up the stairs to the house and knocking on the door.   
The house was unusual. It looked old and the shape of it wasn’t something Robin had seen before. It looked more like a cylinder than a square, built with both bricks and wood. Quirky was a word that came to mind. 

She knocked again. There was light coming through the windows and soon enough she saw a shadow coming over to the door and opening it.  
In front of Robin stood an old woman. Tall and very eccentric with her gray hair hanging loosely over her shoulders. Her outfit was certainly not something Robin had pictured an old lady like her to be wearing. A purple crop top and a pair of skinny jeans. She was however wearing a doctor’s white coat over as well, but it looked more like she had been forced into wearing it rather than have willingly put it on.   
“You’re late,” the old woman said. Her expression was stern.   
“I… Dr. Kureha?” Robin asked.  
“Yes. Come in,” Kureha replied and stepped aside to let Robin inside.  
Robin took a few steps, going past Kureha and looking around. The inside was just as unusual as the outside. A huge amount of different kinds of plants filled the house. Books and journals everywhere.   
“Off with your shoes and follow me,” Kureha said once she noticed Robin kept staring a bit too long on her belongings.   
“Oh. Right,” Robin stepped out of her heels and put away her sweater that she had brought with her in case it would get cold outside later.   
She then followed Kureha into what Robin supposed was the examination room. It didn’t look much different from the rest of the house, but it did have a bit more things you’d expect a doctor would have, such as gloves, equipment and bandaids that lay scattered on the counters.   
Kureha gestured for her to sit down on the examination table while the doctor herself grabbed a chair. She pulled it along with her and seated herself in front of Robin.  
“Robin, was it?” she asked.  
Robin nodded.   
“I thought there would be two of you. The man who called said he’d be with you.”   
“He… must have forgotten. I waited for him but he never showed up,” Robin explained.  
Kureha snorted.  
“Men.”  
Robin couldn’t help but to smile. 

An hour later, Robin stepped out from the house. The actual examination hadn’t taken longer than fifteen minutes, but they had spent the rest of time just talking.   
It had been a relief for Robin to talk to someone who could explain what she was going through and Kureha seemed to have enjoyed her company.   
At the end of the hour though, it was getting dark outside. She also heard some thunder in the distance, slowly closing in.   
She sat down in the car and started it. After checking her phone again and sighing at the lack of responses, she started the car and drove off.   
The car had only been running for five minutes before it started to rain heavily. She barely noticed the road sign, but managed to turn in time and ended up on the slightly bigger road. There were no cars around her. She couldn’t even spot any headlights from far away.   
After about a minute on the new road, she noticed loud groveling sounds from under the car, as well as it starting to smell a bit strange. That thing she hit earlier must’ve really messed things up, she started to think before the car’s motor suddenly stopped and it rolled aimlessly for a few seconds before Robin managed to move it to the side a bit.   
Then it went completely still. 

Robin just sat there, staring out into the nothing. Her headlights were still on, but it didn’t help much. She couldn’t see anything either way because of the heavy rain.   
“Fuck… **fuck**!” she muttered to herself.   
She tried to start the car a couple of times before giving up. The thunder was now almost above her it sounded like and she jumped when a particular strike was heard.   
After grabbing her phone, she called Crocodile again.   
“Pick up, pick up, pick up,” she groaned and let the dial sound go on for far too long before she ended the call. It was only then that she noticed how little battery she had left. Only a couple of percent that surely wouldn’t last very much longer.   
Frustrated, she threw the phone in the passenger seat and dunked her head against the car seat.   
Typical. Not only did he completely abandon her before the first doctor’s appointment, he also never picked up his goddamn phone.

She sat still, just muttering to herself about her bad luck for a few minutes before she noticed a set of headlights coming toward her.  
Robin watched them come closer and expected them to pass her, but to her surprise, the car the headlights belonged to stopped a couple of metres away.  
That car got turned off and out stepped a man out. In her own headlights, she recognised him. She couldn’t place him though.   
He ran over to her car and knocked on the window with a smile. As a precaution, she had quickly locked her car once his car had stopped.   
She looked up at him and rolled down her window a little bit.   
“Need help?” the man asked. He was wearing a hoodie with the hood up, so she only had a good look on his face.   
“Uhm… it’s okay, I can.. I can call someone to help me,” Robin replied, giving him a faint smile back. “I accidently ran over something before.”  
“There’s no need, miss. I’m a mechanic. I can repair anything,” the man said. “Or… mostly anything. Cars, no problem though.”   
Robin looked unsure. He seemed nice, but she was cautious and the man noticed it.  
“Hey, take my phone and car keys once I get out my tool kit. You can even dial the emergency number and have it on hold if you want,” the man continued. “As a precaution. I promise you I won’t do any shady business.”   
Robin thought about it for a few seconds before she nodded. Why not? He seemed confident enough.   
The man nodded and went back to his car to grab the items and returned a minute later. He told her to unlock the hood of the car from the inside before he slipped his car keys and phone through the crack of her window for Robin to hold on to.   
The man opened up the hood of the car to check it. He had a flashlight with him to be able to see anything since by now it was already way too dark and way too rainy to be able to properly see anything.  
The phone was unlocked and while the screen was cluttered with different apps, she looked at the screen background.   
It was an old photo of what seemed to be a huge boat. In front of the boat stood three men. The man just outside helping her was there, along with another man with shoulder length hair. The third man was older, looking a lot heavier than the other two. They were all smiling.  
Robin sat quietly and studied the photo for a little while before she noticed the man coming over to her side of the car again.  
“I have to check under your car. You said you ran over something, right? It may have done damage. I have a pair of scissor car jacks in my trunk. You’d have to step out though. You can sit in my car if you don’t want to get wet,” he said with an apologetic smile.  
Robin did what he asked. She grabbed her personal items along with his phone and car keys and ran over to his car and sat down in the driver seat.   
The car was larger than her own, but several years older. It wasn’t messy, but it didn’t look like it had been properly cleaned in ages.   
The man grabbed the car jack from the trunk of the car and went back to working on Robin’s car.   
It took nearly twenty minutes before he came back to Robin, soaked from the rain, but looking triumphant.   
“It should work now. I did my best and it should be able to take you home, wherever you live, but my advice would be to let a car mechanic with better tools available take a look at it as well when you have the time,” he said.   
He then squinted his eyes a little as he looked at her, trying to place her somewhere.  
“Hey, don’t I know your face?” he asked and then snapped his fingers. “From the casino, right? I had a job there a while back, fixing your slot machines.”  
That’s where she had seen him.   
“Yes. I think… I remember you now,” she replied. “Thank you, for both of those times.”  
The man chuckled.   
“Oh, no worries! I love to fix things, whether it’s through my job or in my freetime, like now. I just hope I didn’t scare you.”   
Robin shook her head and gave him a more genuine smile now.  
“Thank you. Tell me, what’s your name?” she asked.   
“Oh, it’s Cutty Flam,” he replied. “But please call me Franky.”


End file.
